Pokemon Original Series, genderbent
by MrTheatrical
Summary: The Pokemon Original Series, Genderbent style! I don't own Pokemon.
1. General Stuff

Hello everyone! So yeah, as you read in the summary, this fanfic will be composed of the Pokemon Original Series, entirely genderbent! This would of course include every human and Pokemon (minus ones that don't have genders like Voltorb and Magnemite). Since everyone will be a different gender, every character's' personalities will also be changed to still stay true to their character while also corresponding to their new gender. For example, Ash, who will be Ashley, is still her usual stubborn, cocky, and good-hearted self, while also having a tomboy to her. She will also have a more girly side when it comes to her Pokemon, like she will find much more Pokemon cute and will openly express it.

As I begin this fanfic, I want to know from you guys if I should just skip those pointless filler episodes where nothing really happens (example: The Kangaskhan Kid). No Pokemon caught, no lessons learned, etc. If I do, I'll just mention the general events of the skipped episodes in the next episode's recap. Please either DM me your thoughts or put them in as a review. Thanks!

Also, since this my first fanfic, I'll be widely open to criticism as my writing will most likely suck as I begin this fanfic.

I hope you all enjoy this fanfic! I'll do my best! Stay tuned for the first episode, Pokemon - I Choose You, genderbent style!


	2. Pokemon - I Choose You

In the World of Pokemon, at the Kanto region, there was an intense Pokemon Battle going on at the Indigo Stadium, the Kanto Pokemon League at the Indigo Plateau where every Pokemon Trainer destines to reach after they have achieved all eight Gym Badges of the Kanto Region. On the battlefield of the Stadium stood two trainers on opposite sides. One trainer was using a tall, shadowy Pokemon with red eyes and a large grin. This Pokemon was called Gengar. The other trainer was using a smaller Pokemon with blue fur and rabbit-like features. This Pokemon was called Nidorina and it started off the battle by charging towards Gengar, using Fury Swipes.

"Nidorina begins the battle with a vicious Fury Swipes!" said the female announcer of the Stadium.

Unfortunately for Nidorina though, Gengar dodges the attack by jumping on her head and bouncing a few feet behind. "Oh, but Gengar bounces right back!" The Ghost Pokemon then starts sending hypnotic waves towards Nidorina, causing it to fall asleep. "And there it is! The Hypnosis power of Gengar! This could be the end of Nidorina!"

Just after she said that though, Nidorina's trainer recalls her back into her Pokeball. "But wait! The trainer recalls Nidorina! Which Pokemon will she use now?" The trainer then tossed another Pokeball onto the battlefield, releasing the giant rock snake Pokemon, Onix. The rock snake roared at her opponent as she materialized out of her Pokeball. "Whoa, it's Onix! Now this giant Pokemon's on the attack!" Onix then dived down to Gengar with a Tackle attack, but Gengar quickly jumps out of the way. "Ho ho, but Gengar jumped aside!"

Turns out, this battle was being watched on T.V. by a 10-year girl in Pallet Town. Well, actually, she was kinda watching it, as while the battle was going on, she was also imagining herself in the Stadium.

 _"Yes, I am Ashley."_ the girl thought to herself as she slipped on right green fingerless glove.

Ashley Ketchum was girl in Pallet Town and all she ever wanted up to this point was to become a Pokemon Trainer. That's why she was so into the battle on T.V. She loved seeing Pokemon Battles and she always dreamed of one day competing in the Pokemon League, so to hype herself up for the day she'll become a Pokemon Trainer (which is tomorrow), she always watched Pokemon Battles in the evening before she went to bed in her room. Ashley's passion to be a Pokemon Trainer was also evidenced by her room, as it was decorated with a large variety of Pokemon decorations, like a Poliwag Pencil Sharpener and a Snorlax Pillow on the floor. Ashley had long and spiky raven-dark hair and on top of her hair was her favorite hat, a red and white cap with some kind of green symbol on the front. She wore a black top (revealing her navel), a normal-sized blue and white jacket with yellow-lined pockets, green fingerless gloves on both of her hands, a blue skirt supported by a black belt, and long white socks that extended to her knees. In front of her were black Mary Jane shoes that she started to put on.

 _"Now that I'm 10, I can finally get my Pokemon License!"_ Ashley said in her mind as she slipped on and adjusted her Mary Jane's. This is true as children who reach the age of 10 are eligible to become Pokemon Trainers. For Trainers living in Pallet Town, they can go over to the Pokemon Professor and Expert of the town, Professor Samantha Oak, and receive their Starter Pokemon and Pokedex from her laboratory. Ashley then started to readjust her hat and grab a Voltorb Alarm Clock as she says, "I will journey to gain the wisdom of Pokemon Training, and I hereby declare to the Pokemon of the world; I will be a Pokemon Master!" She then raised the Voltorb Alarm Clock in the air like it was an actual Pokeball. "Pokemon Master! That is what I'll-"

Just then, Ashley was suddenly interrupted by a stern masculine voice. "Ashley! Get to bed!" This sudden interruption of the girl's dramatic moment caused her to lose her balance and accidentally throw the alarm clock out of her hand. The clock was then caught by the origin of the voice, Ashley's father, Devon Ketchum. Unlike his daughter, Devon Ketchum had short brown hair. He wore a plain-yellow T-shirt, a pink jacket, blue jeans, and currently blue slippers as he was just about to change into his regular night clothes until he heard his daughter's yelling voice, indicating she was still awake, despite tomorrow being a very big day for her. With the alarm clock in hand, Devon opened it up to show the current time, 11:00 PM. "It's eleven o'clock and you should be asleep!" he scolded her.

"But tomorrow I begin my Pokemon Journey! I can't sleep!" Ashley whined back.

Devon responded, "Well, if you can't sleep, you should at least get ready for tomorrow," He then picked up the remote and changed the channel. "Here, watch this."

Devon changed the channel to a show featuring Professor Samantha Oak giving a lesson about the Pokemon Starters. "Good evening Pallet. Tomorrow's the big day for the newest class of Pokemon Students. I'd like to introduce you to Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Each one is available for new trainees. Which one shall you choose?" Oak then started explaining the different advantages and disadvantages each Starter has.

"Go to bed when this is done."

Ashley though, was too busy marveling the cuteness of the three Starter Pokemon, didn't really pay too much in mind of what her father just said. "Alright, I'm going." she said, still standing and focusing her eyes on the T.V.

"And change into your pajamas, okay?" Devon reminded her. He then left and closed the door to go to sleep himself as Ashley still kept her eyes on the T.V.

She probably didn't even realize her father just left. "I'm going." she said mindlessly. Who could blame her though, every upcoming Pokemon Trainer should be excited to start their journey soon! What fun and thrills a Pokemon Journey can bring!

Eventually, Ashley finally changed into her pajamas (which was a green nightgown extended to her ankles) and was off to bed. However, with the excitement of becoming a Pokemon Trainer still within her mind, she was already dreaming of battling and raising Pokemon. "Raising Bulbasaur, that'll be really simple. It's perfect for beginners." Ashley moaned in her sleep, repeating what she heard from Professor Oak. Now in her dream world, Ashley dreamt of owning a Bulbasaur of her very own. "I choose you, Bulbasaur!" Ashley shouted as she threw a Pokeball that released said Pokemon. As she dreamt, Ashley moved her head slightly on her pillow, the vibrations causing the Voltorb Alarm Clock to fall from the shelf behind her and into her hand. As that happened, Ashley then moaned to herself, "And there's Squirtle." Back in Ashley's dream world, Ashley shouted, "I choose you, Squirtle!" as she threw another Pokeball to release the turtle Pokemon. With her mind and body filled with excitement, Ashley sat up in her sleep and repeated another thing she heard from Oak, "Choose it or lose it." before falling back down to her pillow. Ashley then slept the night away, though much longer than she anticipated.

The next day, as the sun rose high sky and a three-headed bird Pokemon called Dodrio crowed to the sky as it watched the burning star rise, Ashley was... still asleep, now dreaming of the fire-type Starter, Charmander. "Oh, hold on. Charmander. Those in the know say that's the best way to go." Ashley moaned in her sleep. Going back once again to her dream world, Ashley dreamt of owning a Charmander herself as she threw the Pokeball it was contained in. "I choose you, Charmander!" she shouted in her dream. Unfortunately, as Ashley dreamt of throwing a Pokeball, in reality, she threw her Voltorb Alarm Clock to the wall, breaking it. The sound of the crash was enough for Ashley to wake up, though horrified. "Oh-no! What time is it?!" She then looked out the window to see the sun was already high in the sky instead of midway like she anticipated. That was when Ashley realized she overslept.

Not wanting to be late to obtain her Starter, Ashley just made a deadline out of house for Professor Oak's lab, not bothering to eat breakfast, say "Good morning!" to her dad, or even change her clothes. Heck, when she got out of bed, the only clothes she bothered to change into were her Mary Jane's, albeit barely on and poorly adjusted. Ashley ran and ran to Oak's lab, swinging her left arm as she ran and holding up her nightgown to avoid slipping with the other one as she panted, "Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander, anyone's fine, just please save one for me!"

Upon reaching the lab, there was a large crowd of people surrounding the gates the led to the pathway against the hill where Oak's Laboratory resided. In front of the crowd was group of yell leaders in blue outfits shouting in megaphones, "Garyn, Garyn, she's the girl! Her battling skills shine like a pearl!" as they repeatedly pumped their fists in the air.

Ashley, REALLY wanting to get her starter already, ran right through the crowd and yell leaders, apologizing and saying, "Excuse me!" as she did, only to be pushed to the ground upon reaching the front of the crowd.

The one who pushed her then yelled to her, "Hey! Watch where you're going!" This person was none other than Garyn Oak. In their childhood, Ashley and Garyn used to be childhood friends, but since they both extremely wanted to become Pokemon Trainers, they started to become mortal rivals with each other, as they both proclaimed they'll be the best like no one other was. Because of this, they, well, mostly Garyn, became less friendly with each other as they grew up. Garyn was also Samantha Oak's granddaughter, so she always bragged being related to a Pokemon Expert, feeling she shares her "Expert Blood." Garyn had spiky brunette hair, though it wasn't as long as Ashley's. She wore a purple dress that extended to her knees, black short shorts underneath, a green and yellow Yin Yang necklace, and heeled brown boots. Upon seeing whom she pushed down, she smirked and said, "Well, you must be Ashley," pretending she doesn't know her just to tease her. "Better late than never, I guess. At least you get the chance to meet me!"

"Garyn?" Ashley said, surprised to see her rival.

"Lady Garyn to you," she corrected. "Show some respect! Well Ashley, you snooze, you lose, and you're way behind right from the start! I've got a Pokemon and YOU don't!"

Shocked, Ashley responded, "You got your first Pokemon?!" Ashley was becoming jealous and Garyn was happily seeing it.

"That's right, loser," she continued to mock, "and it's right in this Pokeball." Garyn took out the Pokeball and twirled it on her finger as she said that.

The crowd then started cheering for Garyn as her yell leaders chanted, "Let's go Garyn, let's go! Yay! Yeah!"

Garyn smiled at her fame. She then placed her left hand on her left hip and raised her up right arm, which had the Pokeball in it, to strike a boisterous and egotistical pose. "Thank you fans! Thank you all for this great honor! I promise you that I will become a Pokemon Master and make the Town of Pallet known all around the world!" The crowd and yell leaders then erupted in a much larger cheer, showing their faith and support in supposedly Pallet Town's top Pokemon Trainer.

Normally, Ashley would to try to fight back against her rival's teasing, but seeing Garyn already has a Pokemon just made Ashley wanting to see it, eager to see if whatever it is is just as cute as she's seen on T.V.

"Excuse me."

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of Pokemon you?"

Garyn only rudely got into Ashley's face and said, "None of your business! If you showed up on time, you would have seen I got the best Pokemon from Professor Oak! It's good to have a grandmother in the Pokemon business, isn't it?" Garyn then felt done teasing Ashley for a day, so she hopped on her shiny red convertible to make her way out of Pallet Town. As she drove off, she proclaimed to the Pallet Town residents, "Thank you coming out to see history in the making! Now I, Garyn Oak, am off to learn the ways of the Pokemon Trainer!" The residents and yell leaders happily followed the convertible, continuing to support the supposed legend. Ashley though, was now completely enraged of jealousy.

"I'll show you." she angrilly muttered under her breath.

Professor Samantha Oak then appeared behind, surprised to see the young girl. "So, you decided to show up after all." she remarked. Professor Oak had brown-turning gray hair in a short style with some of her hair on the right side of her head spiked out a bit. Her skin was a tad darker than Ashley's and Garyn's and she wore a red collar shirt, a long light-brown skirt, brown short heeled shoes, red earrings, and of course, a long white lab coat.

Surprised and slightly embarrassed, Ashley quickly faced Professor Oak and asked, "Oh! Professor Oak, where's my Pokemon?"

Oak looked at Ashley curiously and responded, "Your Pokemon?"

Feeling she's getting closer into obtaining her Starter, Ashley excitedly said, "Yes, I'm ready!"

Amused, Oak giggled and remarked, "You look like you're ready for bed, not for Pokemon Training. I hope you don't think you're going to train in your pajamas."

Now even more embarrassed, Ashley quickly replied, "Oh, no Professor! I got messed up this morning and I was a little late, but believe me, I'm READY for a Pokemon!"

Now inside Professor Oak's Laboratory, Oak opened a device containing the three Pokeballs that contained the Starter Pokemon.

"I thought about it a lot and it took me a long time," Ashley then picked up a Pokeball, "but I finally decided to choose Squirtle!" However, when Ashley opened up the capsule, it was empty, causing Ashley to moan a depressed "No!"

Oak then pointed out, "Already taken by somebody who was on time."

"Oh, I wish I hadn't overslept." Ashley whined a little. She then quickly regained her high energy and picked up another Pokeball. "But now I will choose as my Pokemon, Bulbasaur!" But as soon Ashley opened that Pokeball, it was also empty. "What?!"

"That one was also taken by a kid who wasn't late." Oak simply stated.

"Oh, well, that's no problem," Ashley picked up the last Pokemon, hoping for a different result, "because my Pokemon will be Charmander!" No surprise, that Pokeball was also empty. As this clearly wasn't her day, Ashley groaned.

Professor Oak then remarked, "The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the Pokemon."

Fearing the worst, Ashley turned to the Professor and asked, "Does that mean all the Pokemon are gone?!"

Feeling honest, though also a bit nervous, Oak scratched her cheek and replied, "Well, there is still one left, but I..."

Just wanting a Pokemon already, Ashley cutted her off, "Professor, I'll take it!"

With no other choice, Oak revealed a fourth Pokeball at the middle of the device and she picked it up. "I should warn you there is a problem with this last one."

Ashley didn't care. "I have to have a Pokemon."

Oak shrugged and handed her the capsule. "Well, in that case..."

Ashley then opened the Pokeball, revealing a large flashing light as the Pokemon within materialized on top of the Pokeball containing device. The now revealed Pokemon was a small yellow mouse with black eyes, red cheeks, pointy ears with black tips, and two brown stripes above its zigzag-shaped tail, which at the end, had a small dent at the middle, making it slightly resemble a heart. The Pokemon then said, "Pikachu."

Oak then stated, "Her name is Pikachu."

Ashley's eyes were all filled with sparkles and she happily starred at her Starter Pokemon in front of her. "Awww! Not only does it look like the best, but it's SOOO CUUUUTE too!"

"You'll see." Oak simply remarked, seemingly expecting something... electrifying coming up soon.

Ashley then happily picked up the electric mouse and hugged it. "Oh, hi Pikachu!"

Pikachu though, was not too pleased of being hugged by this child she just met, so instead of returning the hug, Pikachu uttered a ticked-off, "Pika..." under her breath as her sparks started flying from her cheeks and then she released a powerful Thundershock onto the 10-year old, obviously shocking her.

As Ashley was being electrocuted, Oak, not surprised of Pikachu's behavior, commented behind her, "It's also known as an Electric Mouse. It's usually shy, but can sometimes have an electrifying personality." Pikachu was then done shocking Ashley, leaving the girl with burnt marks all over her skin and pajamas.

"I see what you mean." said a stunned Ashley.

" _Shocking_ isn't it?" Oak remarked. Professor Oak then took out a red device called the Pokedex and six empty Pokeballs. "Now take these; your Pokedex and Pokeballs."

Ashley then weakly reached out to take them. "Thank, YOUUUU!" Yep, as soon she touched the Pokedex in Oak's hand, the leftover electricity in Ashley's body emitted toward the mechanical device upon contact, causing both Ashley and Professor Oak to be shocked.

"YOU'RE WELCOOOOOME!" Oak yelled.

After they were done being electrocuted, the two stepped out of the lab and walked back down to the gates, only to encounter a smaller crowd of people than the one before. It was composed of the residents of Pallet Town that were more supportive towards Ashley than Garyn and it was, of course, led by Ashley's father, Devon Ketchum, and in his arms was a green backpack. As the crowd waved homemade banners and enthusiastically clashed tambourines and kettles, Ashley, shocked to see her dad and that he would do such a thing for her, said, "Dad!" and then she walked toward the crowd while putting the Pikachu in her hands in the ground next to her.

"Oh darling, I'm so proud of you! You're finally going to fulfill your dream and start your Pokemon Training." He then turned his head away a little, trying to hold back the tears of his only child leaving him. "But sweetie, I'm going to miss you so much! Take care, Ashley! Make your papa proud!"

Curious, Pikachu walked forward and said, "Pikachu."

When Devon was done crying, he opened the backpack and started tossing the contents into Ashley's arms. "I packed your Mary Jane's and skirts, nice clean tops," Devon then carefully whispered the next item to save Ashley from embarrassment, "and underwear," Devon then went back to his regular tone, "and your favorite snacks and some hot chocolate in case you want something hot, but be careful not to burn yourself! And a pair of rubber gloves to do your laundry and a new clothesline to hang it out to dry and..."

However, despite knowing her father's care and intentions, felt embarrassed to the brim of having many her of clothes being exposed like this to the public, so she quickly snatched the backpack herself and screamed, "DAD! You're embarrassing me in front of all these people! You should know I'm a big girl now and as a Pokemon Trainer, I can take care of myself!"

Devon simply smiled, knowing what his daughter meant. "I understand." He then looked down and noticed Pikachu. "That's your Pokemon?" he asked.

In response, Pikachu replied, "Pikachu." as her way of saying "Yes, I am a Pokemon."

Ashley then responded herself, "Yep, that's my Pokemon."

After she said that though, Pikachu turned her head away and shouted, "Pi!" which was her way of saying, "I am not your Pokemon."

Ashley was thrown off a little by the small Pokemon's stubbornness, but then she confidently turned to her supporters and said, "With Pikachu at my side, I'll get all the Pokemon in the world!"

"I thought all Pokemon stayed inside their Pokeballs. Why doesn't this one?" asked a confused Devon.

Upon remembering this, Ashley said, "Oh, yeah! Right," and then took out Pikachu's Pokeball. "Pikachu, get in the ball now." Ashley tossed down Pikachu's Pokeball towards her, but Pikachu only slapped the ball back into Ashley's hand with her tail, much to her shock. Ashley then tried to recall Pikachu into her Pokeball a few more times, but every time, Pikachu only slapped the ball back with either her leg, head, or tail again.

The crowd of supporters though, just saw this as a game between the two. Devon chuckled and said, "Looks like you two are playing catch! You're friends already!"

Ashley, wanting to look professional, went along with this. "Uh, sure!" She then picked up Pikachu from the ground. "Pikachu and I are real pals! Right, Pik-"

Before Ashley could finish, Devon, now that he and the other supporters had a better view of Pikachu, all gave disturbed glances. "But, it's a little weird." Devon commented about the electric mouse.

"Weird?" Now sensing what's coming next, Ashley saw an offended look from Pikachu. Unsurprisingly, Pikachu then unleashed another Thundershock attack, affecting everyone except for Professor Oak, who wisely stepped back after Devon's comment.

"Those rubber gloves your dad packed will come in handy!" the Professor yelled out.

"WHYYY?"

"Rubber blocks electricity!"

"GREEAATT!"

When Pikachu finished shocking everyone, all of Ashley's supporters fell down to the ground, completely wiped out from the attack. "Don't forget to change your underwear every single day." a dazed-out Devon reminded her daughter. Normally, Ashley would be embarrassed of having her dad say something like that out loud, but with everyone knocked out, she didn't really mind and simply responded, "Okay."

Pikachu happily uttered, "Pikachu!" as she was completely pleased of herself. However, after Ashley changed into her clothes (the ones she wore before she went to bed), Pikachu's happiness was cut short as Ashley tied her to the clothesline and dragged her with her up Route 1 while wearing the rubber gloves to avoid any more electrical shocks.

Tired of Pikachu's stubbornness, Ashley stopped, turned to Pikachu, and asked, "Pikachu, are you gonna be like this the whole way?"

With a "Pi!", Pikachu only turned her head away again.

Ashley bent down to Pikachu and asked, "Is it because you don't like me?" Pikachu nodded. "Well I like you a lot, and since you're the Pokemon I'm training, don't you think you could be a little nicer and just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?"

Pikachu then did just that, only giving Ashley a long and unenthusiastic "Chaa."

"Uh, that's not exactly what I meant. Is your name all you can say?"

Pikachu nodded with a firm "Pika." to confirm what Ashley said is right.

"Well, you're just like all Pokemon and you should act like one and get inside the Pokeball, just like it said in the Pokedex."

Ashley then opened said device and pressed a button for the robotic-feminine voice of Dextra to say, "While being trained, a Pokemon usually stays inside its Pokeball."

"You see?"

Pikachu then jumped up and pressed another button on the Pokedex. "However, there are many exceptions. Some Pokemon hate being confined."

Feeling she understands Pikachu now, she started untying the clothesline off Pikachu. "Okay then. This oughta make things better," She then took off the rubber gloves. "And I'll get rid of these." Ashley then reached her finger towards Pikachu, hoping to have built a connection. "How's that?" Pikachu only turned her head away again. "Still not good enough?" Pikachu nodded and Ashley sighed. Suddenly, the both of them heard footsteps nearby, the source being the brown and cream colored bird Pokemon, Pidgey, who was pecking the ground. "A Pidgey!" Ashley shouted as she scanned the bird with her Pokedex.

"Pidgey is a Flying Pokemon. Among all the Flying Pokemon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture; the perfect target for the beginning Pokemon Trainer to test her Pokemon's skills."

"This is great, it's our lucky day," Ashley shouted as she put her Pokedex away. "Pikachu, go get it!" Once again, Pikachu refused and turned her head away. "Aren't you ever gonna listen to me?"

In her way of saying no, Pikachu said, "Chu."

"But why not?"

Instead of giving a proper response this time, Pikachu only ran away from Ashley and climbed up a tree, giving Ashley a rude yawn of "Chaa."

"Okay, I get the message! I don't want your help or need it! I can get that thing all by myself!"

Ashley dropped her backpack against the tree Pikachu was on, took out one of the empty Pokeballs from her belt, and enlarged it to prepare for capture. "All right, I've pledged to get all the Pokemon in the world. Now I'm ready to take the next step to be the number one Pokemon Master," The Pidgey heard Ashley and turned to her. "Enjoy your last moments of freedom Pidgey cause you're mine," Ashley then twisted her hat backwards (she always did that when she pretended to be trainer before reaching 10) and threw the Pokeball towards Pidgey. "Pokeball, go," The spherical capsule hit Pidgey and it sucked it in. "I did it!" Ashley celebrated, feeling she successfully caught Pidgey, however, the Pokeball kept shaking, indicating Pidgey was trying to break free. Ashley hoped for it not to, but Pidgey broke out, causing the ball to return to Ashley's hands as the bird ran away. "I blew it."

Up the tree, Pikachu was laughing at Ashley for her failure and Ashley went back to her Pokedex for advice. "To capture a Pokemon, you usually have your own Pokemon Battle with the other."

"Now she tells me." Ashley muttered as Pikachu continued to laugh. Ashley then angrily turned to Pikachu and said, "But I have to do everything myself," Ashley then took a look at her backpack. "Wait, I got an idea," Ashley took her nightgown out of her backpack and she silently approached the Pidgey. "Okay, just be quiet. There's nothing to be afraid of." The Pidgey saw Ashley once again. Ashley nervously giggled and said, "Hi little friend," before she suddenly swung up her nightgown in the air. "Sorry buddy!" Ashley then brought down her nightgown on top of Pidgey intent of trapping it. As Ashley struggled to keep Pidgey trapped, a sudden tornado appeared under the nightgown around Pidgey, sending Ashley back. "What happened?"

Dextra answered back, "Pidgey's Gust power creates tornadoes. It also has a Sand Attack."

"Sand?!" Ashley astonishingly screamed before a large cloud of sand went her way, blinding her vision and causing her to cough as Pidgey flew away. Once the attack was over, Pidgey was long-gone and Ashley was all covered in sand. "Guess it's not my lucky day." Pikachu once again laughed at Ashley, causing her to angrily turn to her to yell again, only to be stopped when she spotted a purple rat rummaging her backpack. "Hey! Get outta there!"

Ashley chased the rat away as Dextra started to explain about that Pokemon. "The Forest Pokemon: Rattata. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries."

"Yeah, but this isn't a forest, it's an open field."

"It also comes out to open fields to steal food from stupid travelers."

Ashley was just flabbergasted at this information. "That means, I-I'm stupid?" Pikachu was just laughing even harder now. Told off by a machine. Ashley glared up towards Pikachu again until she noticed three Pidgey emerging from the tall grass. Ashley picked up a small rock and threw it at the group, hoping to knock one out to capture it, but much to her rotten luck, all three of the Pidgey flew away. Ashley sighed, but then noticed another bird covered in the shadows just a few feet away. Thinking it's a Pidgey, Ashley picked up another rock. "I'll get you this time," Ashley threw the rock at the bird, this time hitting it. "I got it!" A large bump appeared on the bird's head, and getting a better view, it turns out it really wasn't a Pidgey, but a more rough-looking bird. And it did not look happy. "I wonder what that is."

Ashley took out her Pokedex again to scan the new bird. "Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack Pokemon and Humans."

Ashley looked up from her Pokedex, only to gain a horrified face as the Spearow started to fly towards her. Ashley quickly dived to her backpack, just avoiding the bird's beak in time, though the Spearow didn't stop there as she continued to attack the trainer, provoking Ashley to try to ward her off with her backpack. As the Spearow attacked, she suddenly saw Pikachu, causing it to change its target from Ashley to Pikachu. "Hey, leave Pikachu alone! She didn't threw the rock!"

Dextra then stated, "Wild Pokemon tend to be jealous of human trained Pokemon."

"Oh..."

Pikachu lost her balance as she avoided the Spearow's attacks, causing to hang on the tree branch for dear life. "Pikachu!" Ashley screamed out in worry. On instinct, Pikachu used her Thundershock to attack Spearow, causing the crisp bird to plummet to the ground. "You got it!" Ashley cheered for Pikachu. However, the Spearow was not done yet as the bird then crowed to a larger tree many feet away, and then a whole flock of Spearow came out and started flying towards Ashley and Pikachu. "Uh-oh," Ashley worriedly muttered. "Uh, should we run?" Pikachu nodded and just like that, Ashley and Pikachu were running for their lives from an angry flock of Spearow. After running past some Sandshrew and Mankey, Ashley turned to Pikachu and said, "Don't worry Pikachu! No matter what, I'll save you," Pikachu then ran ahead of Ashley. "Don't run ahead! I said I'll-"Before Ashley could finished she was pecked on the back of the head by a Spearow. Many other members of the flock flew past Ashley just to attack poor Pikachu. "Leave her alone, Spearows," Now severely weakened, Pikachu collapsed to the ground, only to be attack by more Spearow. "Pikachu!" Ashley screamed as she barged her way through the Spearow to rescue Pikachu. With her Starter in her arms, Ashley continued to run away, stopping upon approaching a large river underneath her feet. With the Spearow behind, Ashley twisted her cap, knowing there was no other choice. "Well, here we go." Screaming, Ashley jumped into the river, with the currents carrying her and Pikachu through the river while avoiding a Magikarp and a Gyarados.

At another part of a river, there was an orange-haired boy who looked about to be the same age as Ashley, though maybe a few months older. His hair was in a spiky style and he wore a yellow sleeveless shirt, blue jeans with red suspenders hanging loose, white socks, and red and white sneakers. He was sitting on the edge of rock close to the river, using a red fishing rod with his red string backpack behind him. He then suddenly saw his lure being pulled down, indicating he got a bite. "Hey, I got a bite! And man, this seems like a big one!" With all his strength, the boy pulled the rod away from the river to have whatever's biting the lure to fly out, but much to his surprise, instead of Water Pokemon like he expected, it was a 10-year old girl, screaming as she flew from the river and landed on the ground beneath the orange-haired boy. "Aww, it's just a kid." the boy complained, not questioning why he fished out a kid in the first place. He then took notice of the Pikachu in her arms. "Oh, and a Pokemon!" He jumped down to the girl and bent down. "Hey, are you okay?"

Ashley turned to the boy with a touched look in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Not you!" the boy shouted back, leading him to shove her shoulder aggressively. So much for politeness.

"Hey, you shouldn't push a girl like that!"

"Well, you shouldn't treat such a poor Pokemon like that! Just look at it! Aw man, is it still breathing?"

Ashley worriedly look down to Pikachu, hoping it was. "I-I-I think so."

"Well, don't just sit there! It needs a doctor right away! There's a medical center not too far from here, you've got to get moving now!"

Ashley then stood up. "You mean a hospital?"

"Yes, for Pokemon."

"Um, can you tell me which way do I go?"

The boy pointed to his upper left direction as Ashley followed his hand. "That way." The two kids then turned around to see the angry flock of Spearow still giving chase to Ashley and Pikachu.

"It's coming back! Run!"

With no other choice, Ashley ran to a red and orange bike nearby, placing Pikachu in the basket. Turns out, this was the boy's bike. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

"I'm borrowing this." was all Ashley said as she peddled off.

The boy then protested, "Hey wait! That's my bike!"

Ashley turned to the boy and said, "I'll give it back someday!"

Not fighting back anymore, knowing she needs it more, the boy angrily sighed.

Ashley just kept pedaling and pedaling, pedaling even faster when she saw Pikachu's weak face. She just wanted to get Pikachu better in time before it's too late, not even caring about the storm that just started. "Pikachu..." the electric mouse weakly uttered to her trainer.

"Just hang on now Pikachu, we're almost there!" The storm picked up and the flock flew closer behind Ashley. Some members started pecking Ashley's head, causing her to lose her focus and ride the bike off a cliff. Ashley and Pikachu fell off and hit the ground, hard. Ashley got up and saw the severely weakened Pikachu. Tears started forming in her eyes. "Pikachu!" Ashley cried as she crawled towards the mouse.

She placed her hand on Pikachu as the mouse weakly cried, "Chu..."

Even more tears started forming from Ashley's eyes now. She didn't care about training and becoming a Pokemon Master anymore at the moment. Right now, she just wants Pikachu to be safe. "Pikachu, this can't happen," Ashley said and she then took out Pikachu's Pokeball. "Pikachu, get inside. I know you're afraid of going in there, but if you're inside, maybe I could save you. Please Pikachu, please listen to me and go inside. After that then, after that just trust me," Ashley placed Pikachu's Pokeball right beside the Pokeball as she stood up and spread her arms to make a defensive position, wanting to protect Pikachu from the raging birds. "Spearow, do you know who I am? I'm Ashley from the Town of Pallet! I'm destined to be the world's number one Pokemon Master! I can't be defeated by the likes of you," Pikachu, regaining some energy, stood up a little and looked at her trainer. "I'm going to capture and defeat you all! You hear me?! Pikachu, go inside your Pokeball, it's the only way!" Ashley stood her ground. She's not going to let these jerks hurt Pikachu. "Come and get me!" Ashley screamed towards the flock as they all started charging towards her. Pikachu was touched. Ashley was more than willing to risk her own life just to protect her, even though they just met and Pikachu was mean to her. She really was a caring and selfless trainer. Now it was Pikachu's turn to return the favor. Getting back to her feet, Pikachu jumped in the way between Ashley and the flock of Spearow.

Absorbing a lightning bolt from the storm, Pikachu released a powerful, humongous, and devastating Thundershock on the entire flock. "PIKACHUUUUU!" The attack was so powerful, it created a giant temporary flash in the area.

The storm then died as peaceful and soothing sunlight filled the area. All the Spearow were gone, the boy's bike was charred, and Ashley and Pikachu were on the ground, though they were fine. The two opened their eyes and smiled at each other, both proud they now have unlocked a special bond between them. "Well, we beat them." Pikachu happily nodded. The two then took notice of a large, golden, sparkling bird flying high above them in the clouds, soaring over the rainbow. "What's that?" Ashley asked her Pokedex nearby, sitting up.

"There is no date. There are still Pokemon yet to be identified."

Ashley turned her attention back to the giant bird, watching it fly away in the distance. Despite not knowing what it is, Ashley just knew for some reason that seeing that Pokemon was a huge blessing. Almost like to say her journey will be filled to the brim of joys like that. Ashley got up, smiled, and picked up Pikachu in her arms. Though they survived, Pikachu was still hurt, so she still needed to reach the medical center. Continuing her way through Route 1, Ashley eventually got a view of her next destination, Viridian Center. Ashley smiled, this must be where the medical center the boy pointed out was. Ashley looked down to Pikachu in her arms, giving her an assuring look that she'll be okay. In response, Pikachu gave Ashley a lick to show her love for her. Ashley and Pikachu hugged before Pikachu closed her eyes to rest as Ashley made her down the path to reach the city. Ashley knew her journey won't be over very soon, especially since she just started. One thing's for sure though, there's still many creatures, mysterious, and wonders to unfold in the World of Pokemon.

* * *

Alright, there's the first episode! Coming up next is episode 2, Pokemon Emergency. Please give me any feedback to have on the chapter, like how did I format this, how I should change the formatting, ideas on characters, etc. I'm widely open to it! Thank you!


	3. Pokemon Emergency

In the peaceful Viridian City, an alert was heard throughout the city.

"Attention citizens of Viridian City! Attentions citizens of Viridian City! We have reports of possible Pokemon Thieves in our area!"

The voice giving out this alert sounded tough and masculine. This voice belonged to Officer Jerry, a man of the Pokemon Police Force. He had short and straightened light blue hair and he wore a long darker blue police uniform, white gloves, and black boots. He used a speaker to send the alert to the city as he continued.

"Be on the lookout for suspicious-looking strangers. Repeat: be on the lookout for suspicious-looking-" Before he could finish, he spotted a 10-year old girl running down the street beside the post he was currently at. Suspiciously, the girl was carrying a Pikachu, without a Pokeball. "Speak of the devil." Jerry muttered to himself.

Ashley ran as fast as she could, determined to get her new friend medical treatment in time, only to be stopped when a gloved hand grabbed the back of her jacket. "Hold it! And just where do you think you're going with that Pokemon, young lady?" the officer asked sternly.

Ashley, not wanting anything to slow her down, broke free of the officer's grip and yelled, "She's _my_ Pokemon, and she's hurt, and I've got to get her to the hospital right away!"

Believing her, Officer Jerry bent down to Pikachu. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'd thought you might be stealing it. Just show your ID and you can go."

"ID?" Ashley was confused. "I, uh, don't have any. You see, we just came here from Pallet and we-" Ashley was then cut off by the officer.

"You know, you're the fourth person I've seen today from Pallet Town."

"The fourth?" Ashley then dreadfully realized something because of this. "Ohh, that means Garyn Oak's here already."

"It's very unusual for someone to carry a Pokemon around in her arms and not a Pokeball. How do I know you didn't steal that Pokemon? Especially since you don't have any identification." remarked Officer Jerry.

"Please let me through," Ashley begged. "I wouldn't steal a Pokemon and I gotta get Pikachu to the hospital! Please sir!"

Officer Jerry then spotted Ashley's Pokedex in her jacket pocket. Pointing it out and now strangely sounding more enthused, the officer asked, "Hey, what's that in your pocket?"

"What?" Ashley then realized he was referring to her Pokedex, so she brought it out. "Oh, this?"

As soon she got it out, Officer Jerry suddenly snatched it from her hands, now sounding completely enthused. "This! This is perfect!" Officer Jerry then suddenly struck an overdramatic pose while holding out the Pokedex. "A Pokedex! This will solve our problem!"

Ashley was lost and confused. "Huh?" is what all that could come from her mouth at the moment.

"Let's see, if you're the real deal..." Officer Jerry said as he opened the device and started to press some buttons.

After one last button, the Pokedex started speaking once again, though this time, not something Ashley was used to. "I'm Dextra, a Pokedex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokemon Trainer, Ashley Ketchum of the Town of Pallet. My function is to provide Ashley with information regarding Pokemon active in training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced." As the device spoke, Ashley's face was then shown on the screen, showing the device was in her legal possession.

"Oh, my Pokedex," Ashley said, realizing it's other use. "I didn't realize it was also my ID." Ashley then asked, "Can I take Pikachu to the Pokemon Center now?"

"I'll get you there in no time at all." Officer Jerry replied in a more comforting voice.

A few moments later, Officer Jerry got on his motorcycle with Ashley in the sidecar to get her and Pikachu to the Pokemon Center. With a determined smile, Jerry told Ashley, "Sit back, hold on, and don't yell." Slamming his foot on the accelerator, the two took off from the Officer Post garage and down the street (while Ashley yelled, "WHOA!"), leaving a huge trail of dust from the path.

Coughing was then heard as the dust cloud cleared, revealing the orange-haired boy Ashley met at the river, and with both of his hands, he was holding his charred and ruined bike from Pikachu's Thundershock. When he was done coughing, he angrily yelled to the two, "Hey, what's the big idea!" (not that they could hear him though) Knowing who was on the sidecar, the boy gave chase. "Come back here!"

After the boy left, some kind of fishing hook on a thin string suddenly appeared from the air and it attached itself to a Wanted Poster composed of two people who both had their faces covered in shadows. The hook removed the poster from the sign it was on, bringing it up to the source of the fishing hook, a large hot air balloon with the balloon being some kind of cat. There were two humans in the basket of the balloon and they both looked at the poster. "A Wanted Poster? Tch, how flattering." remarked a vain-sounding male voice. The source of the male voice had dark pink in a style of a long pompadour. By the looks of it, the hair seemed to be gentfully combed and carefully gelled to give a smooth and shiny appearance. The man wore some kind of white uniform with black gloves and boots and the letter R on the front of his shirt.

"Flattering? This picture makes me look terrible." said an almost-stiffed up feminine voice. The woman of this voice had shorter blue hair in a natural down style. Like her teammate, she wore some kind of white uniform, though her's was more feminine, with the R printed shirt being an R printed top exposing her navel, a white skirt instead of pants, and her black boots and gloves being longer than the man's. She also had blue lipstick, matching her hair, and wore green earrings.

In response to his teammate's previous comment of the poster, the man replied, "Then you should be happy the photographer captured the real you."

The woman smirked back to her teammate, knowing what he meant. The woman wanted to look terrible in the poster, as to them, terrible means scary and powerful. "Exactly." she replied.

"We'll show these bumpkins."

"The people of Viridian City will be sorry they ever saw this face." said the woman as she held up a red rose.

Suddenly, a third voice spoke up and said, "We're all sorry to see your face. Stay focus! We're here to capture rare and unusual Pokemon! Don't forget! Meowth!" The voice belonged to a female Meowth that for some reason could talk. That's why her voice, along with the way she spoke, sounded so unusual. This Pokemon stood on her two feet (which was weird as Meowth usual go on all fours), had six whiskers on her face, a gold charm on her forehead, and big eyelashes.

"Absolutely!" said the man.

"But of course!" said the woman.

"And just remember, I'm the top cat!" the Meowth snidely said.

"You got it!" replied the woman.

"MEOWTH!"

Going back to Ashley, Pikachu, and Officer Jerry, nighttime had now approached them as they continued to speed through the city for the Pokemon Center. The said facility then came in Jerry's view. "There it is!" he shouted, gaining Ashley's attention as she looked at the facility.

"Pokemon Center," she said, amazed by it's size. "It's gigantic!"

As they got closer, Officer Jerry grew a determined look on his face. "This is tricky! Hang on! Here we go!" Much to Ashley's shock and fright, instead of parking the vehicle like a normal person, Officer Jerry just rode the motorcycle up the stairs and into the Pokemon Center itself, just parking it right in front of the front desk.

The man behind the desk, not too pleased to see a vehicle in his facility, sternly said, "We have a driveway, y'know." The man was in charge of the Pokemon Center and his name was Doctor Care. Doctor Care had curly pink hair with a pink head mirror around his head. He wore a pink doctor's outfit with a white apron and white boots.

Officer Jerry, defending his actions, stated, "It's a Pokemon Emergency!"

Adding to that, Ashley stood up, showed Doctor Care her Pikachu, and said, "Please help her!"

Doctor Care saw the Pokemon and then knew the situation in hand. "Looks like a Pikachu. We'll do what we can!" Care then went to his computer to communicate to his co-workers the procedures needed for the current operation. "I need a stretcher for a small Electric Pokemon, stat! With a blink of the eye, Doctor Care's co-workers arrived with the stretcher and they weren't human, but small, pink, egg-wielding Pokemon called Chansey, and they also wore head mirrors. Care then placed Pikachu onto the stretcher. "She'll be okay," Care optimistically assured Ashley. "Rush this Pokemon to the Critical Care Unit." The two Chansey did just that. Doctor Care then put on his medical gloves. "We'll begin the treatment right away!" Doctor Care then took notice of the Pikachu's trainer when she worriedly stepped forward. "Who are you?" Doctor Care asked.

"Hey name is Ashley," Officer Jerry answered for Ashley. "She's the Pokemon's Trainer."

"If there's anything I can do, please, just tell me!" said the worried Ashley.

Doctor Care then sternly answered, "You can be more responsible." Ashley was surprised by this as Care continued on saying, "If you want to become a Pokemon Trainer young lady, you don't let your Pokemon battle until it's in _this_ condition!"

"But you don't know what happened" Ashley defended herself with.

"What's past is past," replied Doctor Care. "Now we have to heal your Pikachu."

"What can I do?" asked Ashley, still worried.

Doctor Care gave her a comforting and reassuring smile and said, "Just leave everything to me."

"Please."

Officer Jerry then respectfully saluted Doctor Care and said, "It's in your hands! I know you'll give the Pokemon excellent care!"

"You got her here just in time!"

"That's my job!" Officer Jerry then remembered a certain elephant in the room. "Oh geez, I left my motorcycle parked at the front desk!"

"Next time use the driveway."

Officer Jerry embarrassingly chuckled and went to take his motorcycle out of the Pokemon Center. Doctor Care then turned to Ashley and said, "Ashley, you'll have to go to waiting room." Doctor Care and the Chansey that was with him then went to take care of Pikachu, leaving Ashley alone.

Still wanting to do _something_ , Ashley said, "Can't I-" But it was too late, the medical doors had already closed. Since then, Ashley just waited and waited, thinking of nothing but hoping her Pikachu to be safe. She was also mentally blaming herself as just like Doctor Care said, if she wasn't so careless as a trainer, Pikachu would've never gotten in that condition. Eventually, at 8:00 PM, Ashley wanted to get it out of her mind and that's when she noticed the video phones over at the wall. "I'll call home."

All the way back at the Ketchum Residence in Pallet Town, the house's video phone rang and Devon Ketchum, having just taken a shower as evidenced by his blue robe, answers the call. "Hello! This is the Ketchum Residence!"

From the video phone, Devon heard the voice of his daughter say, "Hello Dad?"

Devon, excited to hear from his daughter, quickly, and I mean **very** quickly, ran to his room to change into some proper clothing, not wanting to embarrass her by seeing him in a robe. Devon then went back to the phone. "Ashley dear, is everything okay? Devon then turned on the video phone monitor, allowing him to see Ashley and vice versa. "Where are you, Ashley?"

"The Pokemon Center in Viridian City."

"You're already in Viridian City? It took your mother four days to get there when she started Pokemon Training. Oh, she'll be so proud. You're the apple in her eye."

Despite being told this, Ashley still felt ashamed. "Yeah, a rotten apple."

"Oh Ashley, don't get discouraged, you're doing fine! Sweetie, you're growing up right before my eyes, spreading your wings and soaring like a Spearow!"

"I feel more like a fallen Pidgey."

"Ashley, don't you dare talk about yourself that way! You're a confident and aspiring young lady and you should know with your skills and abilities, you can anything you set your mind to! Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"And are you changing your underwear everyday?" Devon whispered.

"Yes." Ashley whispered back, thankful no one heard that.

"That's good. Well, looks like it's getting late. Goodnight sweetie, and just remember: I love you."

"Me too dad. Bye." And with that Ashley hung up and turned around from the video phone. She then noticed an intriguing four-panel board on the wall behind Doctor Care's desk and each panel had a stone carved artwork of legendary-looking Pokemon. "Wow." Ashley said as she approached the board. Upon taking a closer look, Ashley took more notice to the top-right panel. _"That's the flying Pokemon I saw."_ Ashley then thought about the mystical Pokemon until Doctor Care's video phone on his desk started ringing. Ashley then pressed the call button and "voice only" appeared on the monitor. "Uh, this is Ashley. Who's calling?"

Ashley then heard, "Here! I'm over here." From behind. Looking back, Ashley saw the bottom-right panel of the board lower down, revealing a monitor behind it with Professor Oak's back on the screen. "Ashley, it's Professor Oak. Don't you recognize me?"

"No professor, I didn't recognize the back of your head."

Looking behind her, Professor Oak realized she had more monitors mixed up, so she started fixing them. "Oops! Wrong camera!" And with that, Oak was able to fix up her monitors, so now she and Ashley were properly contacting each other face-to-face. "There!" After clearing her throat Oak continued on saying, "I just spoke with your father and he tells me you made it to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. Is that correct?"

"I couldn't be talking to you if I was here."

"You couldn't be talking if you-" Oak then realized what she meant. "Oh, I see! I dialed the Pokemon Center in Viridian City and you were able to answer."

"Yeah, because that's where I am." Ashley stated simply.

"I suppose that proves it," Oak said as she nodded her head approvingly. "The other new Pokemon Trainers made it there with no problem and I'm pleasantly surprised you got there so soon. I admit, when you left, I had my doubts that you could handle your Pikachu, but when my granddaughter, Garyn, said that you wouldn't have a single new Pokemon by the time you got to Viridian City, I bet her a million dollars that she'd be wrong!"

"Well, money isn't everything, right?" Ashley nervously asked.

Now suddenly depressed, Oak replied, "Oh, why do I even bother?"

"But I did see a Pokemon like that one," Ashley said, pointing to artwork of said Pokemon above Oak. "It flew right over the rainbow!"

Oak looked at the stone carving herself and she gave Ashley a ridiculous smile. "Don't talk such nonsense. You couldn't have seen this Pokemon. Trainers have searched their whole lives and never seen it."

"It sure looked like it." Ashley grumbled.

"You must have been mistaken." Professor Oak then heard her doorbell ring. "Ah, there's my pizza! Coming!" Oak then ran off-screen to retrieve her pizza, but then went back to view from the side to say, "It was very nice talking to you Ashley, and good luck." Oak then went back to her door where Ashley could hear her say, "Mmmm, anchovies, spinach, and pineapple pizza." And with that, the connection turned off and Ashley heard a startling and furious voice behind her.

"Now I got you!" Ashley turned around and saw the orange-haired boy from the river, panting furiously as he carried his ruined bike. "I knew I'd find you here!"

"Hey, what happened to your bike?"

"What happened to my bike?! **You** happened to my bike, you little loser! This is what's left after you stole it to save your Pokemon! Now I can see why your Pokemon is in the-" Jus then, the boy's arms started giving in to the bike's weight, causing him to fall down backwards.

Ashley gasped, ran to the boy, and said, "Here, let me help you! What's your name and I'm really sorry about your bike!" as she offered her hands to help him up. The boy, however, only pushed her away.

"I don't need your help, my name is Misten, and you're gonna pay for what you did to my bike!"

"I'll make up for it. I promise I will, really. But I can't do anything about your bike until-"

Misten then stood up with a fist clenched close to his chin and he cutted her off yelling, "I don't want any of your lame excuses, kid, I just want a new bike right now!"

"It's my Pikachu," Ashley finished regardless. "My Pikachu's not too good."

Hearing this, Misten dropped all his anger and became concerned. "Is it very serious?"

"I think so. And there's nothing I can do to help now."

"Oh." Misten now knew the real serious issue here.

The medical doors suddenly opened with Doctor Care and his Chansey coming out wheeling Pikachu in on a stretcher, who was attached to a medical machine via a headband with a light bulb. Ashley and Misten then ran to Pikachu. "Pikachu, are you alright?"

"Your Pikachu is resting," assured Doctor Care, "it's a good thing you got it here so fast. The procedure went well and it should be fine!"

"Thanks to the Pokemon Center!" Misten happily added.

"Yes, thank you very much!"

"Now your Pokemon needs a good rest in the Recovery Room. You should go in with it Ashley."

"Thanks," Ashley then turned to Misten. "Listen, I'm truly sorry about your bike, but I'm gonna need some time to make things right."

"No way! I felt for that last time!" yelled Misten, surprising Ashley. "Well, you should take care of Pikachu now and we'll settle up later!"

"Uh, okay?"

Just then, an alert from Officer Jerry came across the entire city.

"Your attention please! Our Viridian City radar sensors have detected an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokemon thieves! If you have a Pokemon in your possession, exercise extreme caution!"

Over the Pokemon Center hovered the Meowth Hot Air Balloon and the crooks in the balloon were planning something really crooked. "Guess we woke up this sleeping dump." said the man.

"And how dare they like act we're criminals," added the woman. "They should welcome Team Rocket!"

"Well, we'll teach them to respect that name."

"MEOWTH! And when we snatch all dair Pokemon, dos scared little mice will know I'm the top cat!"

"We know Meowth. We know." said both the humans. The two then took out a Pokeball each and threw them down the building. "Ekans, Koffing, attack!" The Pokeballs broke through the ceiling window of the Waiting Room, releasing a levitating poisonous sphere that fumed gases and a purple snake. These Pokemon were Koffing and Ekans respectively. Koffing then started flying around the area, covering the whole room with a thick cloud of smoke.

"What are- Who are they?" asked Ashley in the smoke.

Then from the smoke, Ashley, Misten, and Doctor Care heard a man say, "Don't be frightened, little girl."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." they heard from a woman. The three then heard the two thieves say their own motto.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jeffrey."

"Jane."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, dat's right!"

And with that, the trio of Team Rocket was revealed to the heroes.

"What are you talking about?" asked a confused and somewhat frightened Ashley.

"She just doesn't get it, does she?" said Jeffrey.

"How can I," asked Ashley. "You don't make any sense."

"We're here for the Pokemon." explained Jane.

Ashley then defensively put her arms over the stretcher. "You're not getting Pikachu!"

"Pikachu? We're not interested in your precious electric rat."

"We seek out only rare and valuable Pokemon."

"You're wasting your time," yelled Doctor Care. "This is a center for weak and injured Pokemon."

"Well, that maybe so, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we find a few little Pokemon gems among all the junk."

"You're starting to bug me." growled Ashley, starting to become sicked of the thieves' cruel intentions.

"Isn't that cute?" mocked Jeffrey.

"The girl's bugged." also mocked Jane.

"MEOWTH! Den let's squash her!"

Team Rocket then commanded their Pokemon to attack.

"Koffing, attack!" Jane ordered her poison gas Pokemon.

"Ekans, go!" Jeffrey ordered his snake Pokemon.

The two Poison-types charged toward the three, but they were able to run away in time, only causing the two Pokemon to destroy many electrical appliances on Care's desk, like his video phone. Ashley (who was pushing Pikachu's stretcher), Misten, and Doctor Care were able to evacuate into a Pokeball storage room. Thankfully, Koffing and Ekans didn't see them enter the room, so they passed it as they searched for the three. Suddenly though, the lights of the storage room went off.

"Hey, the lights!" pointed out Misten.

"They must have cut the power," said Doctor Care. "But we've got our own Pika Power source!"

In a nearby room separated by a glass window, an electric generator activated, turning the power and lights back on. This generator was powered-up by a total of 9 Pikachu, who were running on some kind of circular treadmill device as they unleashed their electric power that operated the generator.

"Wow, look at all the Pikachu!" said Misten as he and Ashley looked at the generator.

With the power back on, the Pokeball Transportation PC of the Pokeball Storage room turned on. "A crisis situation has arisen. Initiating emergency Pokeball transport sequence.

"We have to save those Pokeballs!" Doctor Care said before he activated the mechanics in the room to safely transport all the Pokeballs to the Pewtwo City Pokemon Center. Ashley and Misten helped too. "This is the Viridian City Pokemon Center! We have an emergency situation! Transporting Pokeballs!"

"This is the Pewtwo City Pokemon Center," replied the Doctor Care of said city. "Onloader activated! Ready to receive Pokeballs!"

Just then, smoke started seeping through the doors and Koffing charged right into the room, sending smoke everywhere and causing Pokeballs to drop on the floor.

"Get those Pokeballs!" ordered Doctor Care.

"Uh, right!" Ashley said as she instinctively grabbed the Pokeball in front of her.

"This is war," yelled Misten. "Don't just hold them, throw them!"

"All right. Pokeball, here we go!" Ashley threw the Pokeball, releasing a Pidgey. Unfortunately, Ekans came in and hissed viciously to the bird, scaring it away as the Team Rocket came in.

"That thing can't beat us." taunted Jeffrey.

Ashley then grabbed another Pokeball. "No? Well try this one. Pokeball, here we go!" She then threw the Pokeball, but this time it was empty. "Empty?!" yelled a flabbergasted Ashley.

"We're never going to beat them that way!"

"Some of the Pokeballs are empty."

Not giving up yet, Ashley picked up one last Pokeball. "Well now he tells me. This one feels like a real winner! Pokeball, go!" Ashley threw the Pokeball, releasing a Rattata, though Team Rocket wasn't scared.

"Hmph, pipsqueak." insulted Jane.

"Heh, Meowth!" laughed Meowth.

Much like she did for Pidgey, Ekans viciously hissed towards Rattata, scaring the poor rat away.

Tired of all this fooling around, Misten grabbed one of his own Pokeballs and stepped forward against Team Rocket. "I guess I'm gonna have to take this into my own hands. You grab Pikachu and get out of here. I'll take care of these three clowns."

Team Rocket was still not intimidated. "That's pretty big talk coming from such a little man." mocked Jeffrey.

Misten only smirked back at them and replied, "Glad you'd acknowledged the fact that I'm a man. Thanks a bunch!"

"Jeffrey, are you really sure this kid can be considered a "man"?"

"Now that I think about it, I take what I said before back. This kid is no man, but instead a small, young, weak, and pathetic little boy."

Misten angrily growled at them and said back, "I'll show you! Pokeball, go!" Misten threw his Pokeball, releasing the goldfish Pokemon, Goldeen. However, due to the current location, Goldeen could only splash around aimlessly. Jeffrey and Jane were just speechless of this weird choice. "Goldeen, return!" Misten then recalled Goldeen back into his Pokeball.

"That's your best shot?"

"He's all washed-up."

"You know as well as I do that a Water Pokemon can't battle on land. I was just warming up." said Misten with a smirk, showing he was just trying to distract Team Rocket.

"Warming up?" questioned an oblivious Ashley.

Misten then turned to Ashley, annoyed for not taking advantage of the distraction. "Just get Pikachu outta here!"

"Right!" And with that, Ashley held onto the stretcher and wheeled Pikachu out of the storage room and back to the waiting room across the hall with Ekans and Koffing giving chase. Unfortunately, Ashley did not see Misten's bike in way, causing her to fall down when she bumped into it, though the stretcher stood okay. Pikachu then looked up to see even more of the Pokemon Center's Pikachu jump from above a second level in the room to pile on top of him and the stretcher. When they were done, all the Pikachu gave Team Rocket a good combined Thundershock attack. Once the attack was done, Ashley's Pikachu emerged right on top of the Pikachu pile, now completely rejuvenated thanks to the other Pikachu. "Pikachu!" Ashley happily shouted, overjoyed to see her friend well again.

As Jeffrey, Jane, Ekans, and Koffing stand completely stunned and charred from the Thundershock, Meowth jumps in front of her teammates and starts walking toward Ashley's Pikachu herself. "Do I have to do everything? Dat mouse is catfood! Meowth! Pikachu, ya mine!"

Ashley was just about to fight Meowth herself to defend her Pikachu, but she turned to her trainer herself to talk.

"Pika, pika pika. Pika."

"Pika pika?" Ashley questioned?

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"Pika pika power?"

Pikachu nodded again. "Pika!"

"So you want," Ashley then realized what Pikachu meant. "You want more power!"

"What's dis?" Meowth questioned as she saw Ashley setup the ruined bike upside-down next to the stretcher, attached it the medical equipment, and started pedaling it.

"Well, let's just say Pikachu and I are going to generate a little excitement for you, Meowth!"

As Ashley pedaled harder, the flowing electrical with the equipment it was connected to started taking its toll. So much, it even made the bicycle light work, despite the ruined condition. Seeing this, Team Rocket knew that real double trouble was coming their way. Pikachu then jumped on the bike and connected her medical headband to the bike, giving her more than enough electric power to give Team Rocket a really, really, REALLY devastating Thundershock. To make matters worse for the criminals, as Koffing screamed in pain, she also released gas fumes from her body, which combined with the electricity, caused the entire Pokemon Center to erupt in a massive explosion.

Outside the exploding Pokemon Center was Officer Jerry, who was on his way to the facility to help save it with his motorcycle, though by the looks of it, the crime was over already. "Too late, but not for the fireworks."

Later that night, Team Rocket were making their escape from the police with their Meowth Hot Air Balloon, though instead riding in it, they hanging on it with a rope.

"Great, a cat losing to a mouse." Jeffrey furiously remarked to Meowth.

"Dat Pikachu is no ordinary Pikachu!" Meowth defended herself.

"It's certainly very rare. A perfect prize!" Jane pointed out to her teammates.

"Let's catch it!" yelled out Jeffrey

"Perhaps we will." assured Meowth confidently.

And just what their luck with have it, the hole popped in the balloon, causing the criminals to fly uncontrollably to the distance as they screamed for their lives.

The next day, the morning had begun and the Pokemon Center, while partially destroyed, was thankfully still functionable. In the destroyed facility, Doctor Care, along with Officer Jerry, were using a video phone that survived the explosion to communicate with the Doctor Care of Pewtwo City, though the Doctor Care on the screen had a blue head mirror instead of a pink one.

"Your Viridian City Pokemon were transported here safely." the other Doctor Care happily assured.

"Thanks bro," replied the Viridian City Doctor Care. "Ashley, Misten, and Pikachu are heading your way, to Pewtwo City. If they can get safely through the Viridian Forest." Care worriedly added.

"Don't worry," reassured Officer Jerry, "from what I've seen, those three can take pretty good care of themselves!"

"Well, I hope you're right!"

In the wide and tree-filled Viridian Forest, Ashley, Pikachu, and Misten were on their way for the next city until...

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

That was a terrified scream coming Misten. Ashley was surprised as she had never heard any man scream like that. "What's the matter?" she asked as she saw back away against a tree behind him with a horrified expression.

"TH-THAT!" Misten yelled as he pointed to a small caterpillar Pokemon. This Pokemon was a Caterpie.

"Cool! It's a Caterpie! It's one of the big Pokemon!"

"Pokemon or not, bugs are still gross and scary! Just look, LOOK at it! It's just wanting to bite us, I know it!" What Misten said though was clearly exaggerated as Caterpie looked more confused and curious rather than at any way of wanting to bite them. The Caterpie then tilted her head in confusion of the boy's attitude, though this only scared Misten more, provoking him to climb up the tree in fear.

"Heh, some man." Ashley then got out a Pokeball, staring determinedly at Caterpie. "This one's a piece of cake." Ashley then twisted her hat backwards once again and threw the Pokeball towards Caterpie. "Pokeball, go!"

Will Ashley capture the Caterpie? Will she and her new friend, Misten, see Team Rocket again? Will there be even more bugs for Ashley and Misten to run into later in the forest? Stay tuned to find out! 

* * *

And that's the second episode! Heh, that was fun! Alright, I want to give a big thanks for all those who gave helpful criticism after the first episode was posted! I really appreciated it!


	4. Ashley Catches a Pokemon

Starting off from where the last episode ended, Ashley had ran into a wild Caterpie in Viridian Forest and she decided to catch it.

"Caterpie, you're mine!" Ashley yelled as she threw a Pokeball towards Caterpie. The ball made contact with the caterpillar Pokemon, absorbing the creature into the device. Ashley watched anxiously as the ball wobbled, hoping for the capture to be a success. After a few more wobbles, the center button of the capsule clicked, meaning a successful capture, and Ashley was ecstatic.

"YES! I DID IT," she shouted as she ran to the Pokeball and picked it up. "Ha ha! I did it," she then struck a pose with the Pokeball in hand. "I caught Caterpie! I did it all by myself! I caught my first Pokemon! This is the first step on my way of becoming the number one Pokemon Master in the whole world!"

Overjoyed, Ashley grabbed Misten's arm and started dragging him along as she ran around in circles to celebrate. Misten protested, "Hey, wait a minute! I'm getting dizzy, Ashley! I'm getting sick! Quit it!"

"Look out, Pokemon! Nothing's gonna stop me now!" Ashley continued to celebrate as she ran around.

Meanwhile, Pikachu was watching the two humans running around in circles, causing her to grow dizzy and fall down.

Eventually, Misten was able to free himself from Ashley's grip. After doing so, he tried to yell at her, "Ashley, you're acting like a-" but we was cut off instantly as Ashley held the Pokeball close to his face, grossing him out.

"Look! Inside this ball is the very first Pokemon I ever caught in my whole entire life!"

"Great, just keep it away from me, will ya?" Misten insisted, holding his hands up to the Pokeball.

Seeing Misten's reaction to her new Caterpie caused Ashley to raise an eyebrow. This is a perfect time to tease him.

"Aww, is someone afraid of a tiny little bug?"

Misten was having enough. No way he was going to let Ashley ruin his manly pride, even though right now he just wanted to swat that Pokeball out of her hand and run away.

"E-Even if I am afraid of bugs, n-not saying I am," Misten claimed, stuttering a bit, "r-r-right now, you're, ummm, invading my personal space by holding that Pokeball too close to my face, so if you wouldn't mind, please get that Pokeball outta my face!"

He then turned around with his arms crossed and eyes pridefully closed.

"You can tell me if you're afraid of bugs, I'll understand." Ashley honestly stated.

"I AM NOT!"

Ashley just shrugged. Guess he doesn't want to look like a sissy in front of her, but not like that's a problem as kids their age, no matter what gender, are easily afraid of bugs. Ashley was one of those select few who wasn't. She smiled at her Pokeball.

"Well I for one think Caterpie is a cutie, inside her Pokeball or not. I am just imagining her right now all cuddled up like a cute little ball right inside this Pokeball," She then started cuddling the capture on her cheek. "I love you Caterpie!"

"I guess it takes a worm to love a worm." Misten snidely remarked.

In return, Ashley gave him an unimpressed look. "Better a worm than a rude little boy."

On the ground, Pikachu was still dazed out until her trainer approached her. Pikachu stood up and stared at the Pokeball being held in front of her.

"Pikachu, we got a new friend!"

Pikachu sniffed the Pokemon and grew excited upon catching Caterpie's scent. She could just easily tell by Caterpie's scent that she is gonna be nice and friendly.

"Pika!"

"Oh Pikachu, I'm glad you like it. And from now on, we'll catch a whole bunch of new friends! Caterpie, you're sticking with us."

Hearing this sent a fearful trickle down Misten's spine. Knowing Ashley, he knew what she is going to do next.

"Does that mean-"

"Caterpie, come out!"

Just as Misten predicted, Ashley released Caterpie from her Pokeball, provoking him to run away, screaming, to a tree that was more far away from the group.

"ALRIGHT, I ADMIT IT! I'M SCARED OF BUGS! I'M REALLY AM! NOW JUST KEEP THAT SLIMY MONSTER AWAY FROM ME!"

None of this really surprised Ashley, cause she pretty much figured his phobia as soon they encountered Caterpie. It was really obvious honestly.

"There's nothing to be scared of," Ashley assured Misten (who was whimpering behind the tree) before he bent down to Caterpie with her right arm extended to her. "C'mon Caterpie, climb up on my shoulder."

Caterpie nodded and she crawled towards her trainer, only to stop after a few steps to see the orange-haired boy behind a tree just a couple feet away. Out of nowhere, Caterpie eagerly cried out and in a surprisingly fast pace, crawled right past Ashley and Pikachu towards Misten, who let out a horrified scream seeing the bug getting closer and closer to him.

"Hey! Caterpie, come back!"

Ashley and Pikachu walked towards Misten shaking in fear as Caterpie is now affectionately rubbing her head against his ankle.

"Hey Misten, Caterpie really likes you! Isn't that cute?"

Misten only, unable to keep standing anymore, fell down on his rear, not wanting to move with Caterpie close to him.

"Getting this disgusting bug away from me!" Misten demanded Ashley, causing Caterpie to tilt her head in confusion, beginning to see Misten's feelings for her. Misten saw this small action and he only grew even more scared. "Please don't come any closer to me!" he yelled as he backed away to a farther tree.

"What? You think Caterpie's disgusting?" questioned Ashley.

Everything was all loud-n-clear for Caterpie though. Now knowing what Misten truly thinks of her, Caterpie sadly squeaked and lowered her head as Pikachu comforted her new friend.

"Pika pika." Pikachu kindly said as she patted Caterpie's back.

Caterpie thanked Pikachu for her kindness, but then Misten picked up Pikachu to hold her.

"I know! You," Misten said, referring to Ashley, "be friends with that creepy bug, and I'll be friends with Pikachu!"

"Pikachu only likes me and zaps anybody who tries to-"

Ashley stopped speaking when she saw Misten petting Pikachu, who was happy and content with his affection. Ashley was too pleased seeing this, feeling a bit betrayed.

"Grr...Pikachu..."

Misten stopped petting Pikachu was he saw Caterpie looking at him with huge, teary eyes, begging for the same kind of affection. Unfortunately for Caterpie, Misten was still grossed out.

"It's so gross! Ashley, put that slimy thing back in the Pokeball! Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!"

"Aside from you, what are the other most disgusting things?"

"Very funny," Misten then showed what he believes are disgusting.

"Carrots," Misten took out a carrot and kicked it away like a soccer ball.

"peppers," Misten threw a pepper up to the air and uppercutted it.

"and bugs," Misten took a mallet and whammed it right next to Caterpie, causing the poor bug to fall of her feet from the vibrations. "Everybody has something they don't like and I don't like bugs!"

"Yeah, well I like carrots and peppers and bugs," Ashley yelled back at Misten while making a face towards him, now sick of his attitude. "What I don't like is the way you're hurting Caterpie's feelings with your silly fear of bugs!"

Misten only turned his head away with a loud, "Hmph!"

Ashley rolled her eyes to this. Boys can be so mean at times. She then bent down to Caterpie to say, "I don't think you're ugly or disgusting at all Caterpie," she extended her right arm down to Caterpie again. "C'mon, climb up on my shoulder."

Curious, Caterpie turned to Pikachu and the mouse gave her a confident nod.

"You're not gonna scare Misten anymore." reassured Ashley.

With that, Caterpie complied to her trainer's orders and climbed up to her shoulder.

"What do you mean she won't scare me?" questioned Misten, wondering what Ashley had just said.

"We'll go on without her." Ashley mockingly answered. She then went on her way as Pikachu jumped out of Misten's arms and followed her trainer.

Misten angrily stood up and said back, "Oh yeah? I'll show you!"

On the path, Pikachu noticed Misten following behind them and she alerted her trainer this.

"Huh? What's the problem Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!"

Ashley looked to where Pikachu was pointing, spotting Misten who quickly ran to the side behind a tree, though Ashley clearly saw him.

"What are you following us for?" Ashley shouted, making it clear to Misten that they saw him.

"M-My bike," Misten lied, peaking out of the tree. "I'm holding you responsible for my bike!"

"When are you gonna get over that dumb old bike?"

"For your information, Ms. Pokemon Master, _you're_ the dumb one because if you hadn't destroyed it in the first place, _I_ could've ridden outta here by now!"

"I told I'd make good of your bike one day, and if I'm so dumb, how come you're still following me?!"

"I'm not following you, this happens to be the fastest way through the woods!"

Now done with arguing, Ashley continued her way. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

"That's exactly what I'm doing!"

Pikachu looked at the both them and sighed. This is gonna be a long journey with these two and there's most likely gonna be even more pointless arguing, but she's gonna have to deal with it.

Eventually, nighttime had come and after setting down to small area aside from the path and making a campfire for warmth and protection, it was time for some sleep.

"We better get some sleep, you girls," said Ashley as she snuggled into her pink sleeping bag next to a stump that Pikachu, Caterpie, and her Pokeball was on. "Tomorrow's gonna be a big day."

Pikachu and Caterpie nodded in agreement.

"Well, we'd all get some sleep if you'd shut your big mouth!" yelled Misten from his blue sleeping bag that was one the other side of the stump.

"Humph. Don't let the bedbugs bite." Ashley retorted before going to sleep.

"Hmph!" Misten then fell asleep himself.

Pikachu walked over to the other side to look down at Misten. Staring at him, she sadly sighed, disappointed of his mean behavior for the day. While Pikachu liked him, even she couldn't deny how rude, mild-mannered, and admittedly loud he can be. She then heard Caterpie cry out for her to look at the sky. Pikachu complied and was amazed to see how beautiful and marvelous it looked, with a full moon high in the sky and the stars shining bright. To Caterpie, nights are a very special thing to her as when the night comes, the day is over, and as every day goes by, she gets closer to the one thing every Caterpie looks forward to: Evolution. Curious, Pikachu asked Caterpie how the evolution process goes for her species. Caterpie explained that in their second evolutionary stage, they become stiff and immobile, but they also got a huge defensive boost in the process. This amazed Pikachu; that a Pokemon can start off as small and fragile like Caterpie, but upon evolution, not only do they get a little bigger, but they're no longer fragile! How interestingly mysterious. Continuing about her evolution process, Caterpie stated that normally, upon first evolving, it grows more hard to reach the final evolution form, but now that Caterpie has a trainer, that's no longer a problem! Not only with a trainer, Caterpie could get around to more places and battle others to get stronger, but Caterpie could also see the world, places she wouldn't be able to see if she was still a wild Pokemon. Pikachu was happy at Caterpie for this; being able to explore beyond the forest and meet new people. Just a few of the many great things a journey can bring! And with all that said, Caterpie stated to Pikachu his dream: reaching his final evolution form. When Pikachu asked what would his final evolution form bring for him, Caterpie said that not only would she be able to possess a lot more power than she does now, but she would be able to fly. No longer she would be stuck crawling slowly on the ground, she would instead have wings to soar through the air and to the high skies without a care. And with Ashley, not only would she gain the experience and battles needed for evolution, but the love and support as well. Pikachu kindly wished her friend good luck on her dream. Caterpie then looked up at the moon above. One day, she will fly.

Hearing slight snoring nearby, Caterpie looked at Misten and sadly looked down. While she was hopeful of her dream, it was just that things are going to be hard with Misten always bringing her down with his harsh words. Plus, she just wants to be his friend and not be seen as a slimy monster. Seeing this, Pikachu comforted Caterpie, reassuring her that things will turn out okay and she will achieve her dream. This touched Caterpie, as while Misten always puts her down, Ashley and Pikachu will also always be there to bring her back up. Those two are such great friends to her. Now finishing their conversation, Pikachu and Caterpie drifted off to sleep together, awaiting the next day.

 **The next day**

The morning sun had finally risen and the campfire was all out by then. Ashley and Pikachu were still asleep, and Caterpie had slept-crawled during the night right next to Misten's face. This was a big mistake, as when the boy woke up, he instantly let out a loud, terrified scream that woke the girl and her two female Pokemon up.

"Wh-What's wrong?! Wh-What's happening?! Wh-What?! What?!" quickly questioned a startled Ashley, who was now standing up in her sleeping bag.

"What is this thing doing sleeping near me?!" questioned Misten, obviously referring to Caterpie.

Ashley then noticed Caterpie herself, causing her to giggle and say, "Caterpie just wants to be your friend!"

"If that thing wants to be my friend, it can stop bugging me already," he then bent down towards Caterpie. "If you're a Pokemon, get outta my face and into that Pokeball!"

Caterpie was completely saddened by this to the point of crying. All she wanted was to be Misten's friend, but he just keeps being mean to her.

"Oh Misten, you are so unbelievable," Ashley scolded the orange-head, having enough of his cruel treatment. "Caterpie means no harm! Why she likes you I'll never know!"

Ashley noticed down below her depressed Caterpie crawling back to her Pokeball just as Misten told her to.

"Caterpie, what's the matter?" Ashley asked her Pokemon, crawling beside her in her sleeping bag.

Caterpie didn't respond. Crawling the stump, Caterpie reached her Pokeball and she pressed the button with her head to open it, absorbing her into the capsule.

"Hey! Hold on Caterpie!" shouted Ashley.

"Pikachu!" added Pikachu as she knocked on the Pokeball for Caterpie to come out.

This was the last straw for Ashley. Misten's harsh words have now forced Caterpie to seclude herself into her Pokeball. This has gone far enough. She got up and faced Misten to tell him off.

"Alright Misten, you owe Caterpie an apology. Pokemon have feelings too, you know."

Misten pridefully turned away with crossed eyes. No way he's backing his manly pride down to a girl and her bug.

Ashley approached Caterpie's Pokeball to speak with her. "Come on Caterpie, don't your worry! Someday, we'll show him!"

Underneath Misten's pride, he was actually pretty guilty and sorry for making Caterpie feel so of herself. Ashley was right (for once), Pokemon do have feelings just like humans. His mind was soon taken off this as he and Ashley suddenly heard flapping sounds above. Looking up, they saw a bird Pokemon that looked like a Pidgey, only slightly bigger, and it flew right above Pikachu's head and into the tall grass nearby. In the grass, the bird pecked the ground to feed on a worm for breakfast.

"Wow! A Pidgeotto!" enthusiastically screamed Ashley as she jumped out of the sleeping bag, put on her hat, and took out her Pokedex to analyze the Pokemon.

With the Pokedex out, Dextra stated "Pidgeotto, an evolved form of the Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws that dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeottot can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."

Ashley then put away her Pokedex for one of her empty Pokeballs. "Alright Pidgeotto, I'll show you the dangerous one around here," she then threw the Pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"

The Pidgeotto effortlessly slapped the ball away with the back of her wing, sending it back rolling to Ashley's feet as she moaned in defeat.

"You don't get it, do you? You don't just throw a Pokeball and capture a Pokemon, you have to make it battle and weaken it first. The only reason you got to catch Caterpie is because she's already a wealking." stated a slightly annoyed Misten.

"I know what I'm doing, and you just better quit picking on Caterpie, okay?" As Ashley says all this, she started getting up towards Misten's face, wanting to make her point clear. "And now, if you kindly keep your big MOUTH shut, you'll see how it's done!"

Now done with Misten, Ashley grabbed Caterpie's Pokeball.

"Go, Caterpie!"

After throwing the ball, Caterpie was released out to battle Pidgeotto, causing both Misten and Pikachu to gasp in shock. Sending out a bug type to battle a flying type. What the heck is she thinking?!

Taking Misten's gasp as amazement, Ashley egotistically said, "Ha. I told you I know what I'm doing."

"You don't have any idea of the mistake you just made, do you?" Misten exaspereated asked her.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ashley worriedly questioned, only to get a quick response of Caterpie screaming out in pain and fear. That was when Ashley saw Caterpie trying to crawl away from Pidgeotto, who was pecking her non-stop, trying to feed on her.

"Caterpie!" Ashley worriedly cried out.

No matter what direction Caterpie ran, Pidgeotto just swooped back down and continued to chase her new prey.

"Caterpie, counter attack!"

Caterpie stood up and prepared to fight back, but the Pidgeotto was just too strong, causing her to get tackled towards a tree.

"Caterpie!"

"Quick, call it back!" Misten swiftly insisted.

Knowing it's the best decision, Ashley took out Caterpie's Pokeball.

"Caterpie, return!"

Caterpie was quickly recalled back to her Pokeball, causing Pidgeotto to hit the tree and get her beak stuck. Seeing this opportunity, Ashley pointed for Pikachu to attack.

"Pikachu, go!"

Pikachu ran towards Pidgeotto just in time for the bird to get her beak out of the bark and fly back to the air.

"Pikachu, Thundershock now!"

On command, Pikachu fired a strong bolt of lightning towards her flying opponent, damaging Pidgeotto while also Paralyzing her in the air in process. And now that the time was right, Ashley threw an empty Pokeball to Pidgeotto.

"Pokeball, go!"

The capsule reached Pidgeotto and absorbed her in. It then fell to the ground and after some wobbles, the ball clicked, proving a successful capture.

"Yes! We got Pidgeotto!" Ashley said victoriosuly, strucking a peace sign.

"Pikachu!" yelled Pikachu, doing the same thing.

With another Pokemon under her belt, Ashley walked up to Misten to boast.

"I am the greatest!"

Not impressed at all, Misten shoved her shoulder again, just as he did when they first met at Route 1, shouting, "You're the worst!"

"Hey, what was that for?!" asked Ashley as she rubbed her shoulder.

"You have no idea what you're doing! It will be a long time til' you're a Pokemon Master, like a million years!"

"Ugh, I'm trying to!"

"You should try to learn about Pokemon first! With Pokemon, you've got use strategy! Pidgeotto is a bird, Caterpie is a worm, birds eat worms, Ms. Pokemon Master!"

"W-Well, if you just try hard enough, things will work out, won't they?"

Misten was now just done with Ashley's nonsense. It was time to get it down to her thick skull the true basics of being a Pokemon Trainer.

"No Ashley, I'm afraid things won't just work out if you try hard enough! The Pokemon Trainer's judgement is more important than anything else, and unfortunately for you, trainer has to have a brain!"

Ashley was on the verge of tears as Misten's judgement was becoming too much for until. That is, until they a heard villainous laugh coming from a man followed by the familiar-sounding female voice saying, "So, we meet again."

"I know that voice..."

Ashley and Misten looked off to the direction of the voices at a part of the main path shined by the morning sunlight. At first, they saw nothing until the wind blew some dirt clouds by, revealing the silhouettes of a man with pompadour, a woman holding a rose, and bipedal cat. It was Jeffrey, Jane, and Meowth of Team Rocket and they proceeded to their motto.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jeffrey."

"Jane."

"No, not this again." moaned an uninterested Ashley.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Uh, we're kinda busy, so if you could-"

"Quiet, little girl," interupted Jeffrey as Meowth jumped as his and Jane's shoulders, "we're not here to listen to you, we're here to get your Pokemon."

Jeffrey and Jane then pointed towards Pikachu, indicating who they want capture.

"Hand over that Pikachu." Jane demanded.

"Hey, this is my Pikachu! Go out and find your own!"

"The only Pikachu we want is THAT one."

"We're only looking for the rarest, most valuable Pokemon in the world, kid."

"And that special Pikachu is just the kind of Pokemon we need."

Meowth, who was annoyed throughout all this for what her teammates were saying, started viciously scratching their faces with Fury Swipes.

"You idiots! Stop giving up our plans!"

"Is my Pikachu really that special?" asked Ashley, who was now intrigued.

Now done clawing Jeffrey and Jane, Meowth jumped back to the ground and said, "Your Pikachu's power is impressive to me. I really got a _charge_ outta her incredible attack da last time we met," recalling their previous encounter at the Viridian City Pokemon Center, "her exceeded her evolutionary level. Your Pokemon would-"

Before Meowth could, she was suddenly repeatedly kicked to the ground by her angry human teammates.

"Now _you're_ the one giving away our secrets!" yelled Jeffrey.

"Shut up before you tell them anyway!" ordered Jane.

"I'm in charge, cut it out!" pleaded Meowth.

With Meowth's punishment done, Team Rocket focused back on the young trainers.

"Make things easy and hand over Pikachu!" demanded Jeffrey.

In response, Ashley turned her head away and said, "Forget it!"

Jeffrey and Jane then brought out their Pokeballs and threw them for battle.

"Then you leave us no choice."

"Pokemon Battle! Ekans, go!"

"Koffing, go get them!"

The two female poison types materialized out of their capsules, ready to fight against the young trainers.

"Hey! Two-against-one, that's cheating!" complained Ashley.

"Well, as we say: all's fair in love, war, and Pokemon Battles."

"I say that saying's rotten and so are you!"

"Of course we are. We're the bad guys."

Misten stepped forward. "Well, if they're gonna use two Pokemon, I don't see why we can't use two Pokemon."

"The Pokemon League rules say only one at a time."

"Ashley, if you follow the rules, you're gonna lose all your Pokemon!"

Seeing the trainers distracted, Jane took the advantage. "Koffing, Sludge attack, now!"

Koffing spat from her mouth some brown sludge at Pikachu, getting all over eyes and blocking her vision. This quickly grabbed Ashley and Misten's attention and Ashley picked up her Pikachu as the poor mouse tried in vain to rub the sludge out of her eyes.

"If you think you can use your dirty tricks to beat me, you're wrong," Ashley told Team Rocket before turning to Misten. "They might try anything to get what they want, but no matter what happens, don't let them have Pikachu. Understand?"

Misten stared at Ashley. Despite how reckless and careless he thought of her, she truly does care for her Pokemon, just like any Pokemon Trainer should. In fact, her love for her Pokemon seems to extend out more than any other trainer he has met, including himself.

"Misten, come on!"

Misten took his arms and Ashley safely handed Pikachu within them.

"But what about the other two?" worriedly asked Misten, not wanting Ashley to lose the battle.

Ashley turned back to Team Rocket and reached to her belt for the only two Pokemon she has available now.

"So, what's your big battle plan?" mocked Jeffrey.

" _I can't send Caterpie,_ " Ashley said in her mind, " _she's too weak from the last battle._ "

With only one option, Ashley took out Pidgeotto's Pokeball. Now ready for battle, Ashley twisted her cap, threw the Pokeball, and yelled, "Pidgeotto, go!"

With a flash, Pidgeotto popped out of her Pokeball, flying up to the air.

"Koffing, it's grind time."

Following her trainer's orders, Koffing ascended up to the air where Pidgeotto, briefly blocking her path and aiming a Sludge attack towards her, but the bird easily dodged it and flew off.

"Ekans, go get your dinner!"

Ekans rose her neck and tried to chomp down on Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto easily avoided her attack too. Flying back to the air, Pidgeotto started to descend back down in a swift pace.

"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"

Increasing her momentum, Pidgeotto flew faster towards Ekans.

"Ekans, go underground!"

Using Dig, Ekans dug her way underground. Seeing this, Pidgeotto quickly stopped herself in time before she could hit the ground. As Pidgeotto looked around the area cautiously for Ekans's attack, Koffing silently hovered behind her.

"Pidgeotto! Behind you! Watch out!"

Pidgeotto turned around in time to see Koffing blowing a Smokescreen attack towards her and she quickly flapped her wings to blow the smoke away. Koffing then followed up with a rapid Sludge attack. Pidgeotto quickly dodged every hit as Ekans emerged from the ground behind her.

"Pidgeotto!" Misten worriedly called out.

Behind Pidgeotto, Ekans attempted to bite her from behind, though the bird dodged it in time by flying back to the air.

"We're gonna get a Pokemon! We're gonna get a Pokemon! We're gonna get a Pokemon!" gloated the confident Team Rocket Trio as they danced with Team Rocket Fans.

In the air, Pidgeotto continued to fly upwards as Koffing and Ekans followed.

"Gust counter attack! Now!"

Pidgeotto tried to blow away Koffing with Gust, but much to her surprise, the poison gas Pokemon quickly avoided the attack by floating off to the side while Ekans ascended higher behind the bird, leading her to tackle down Pidgeotto on the her back, followed up by a tackle from Koffing, and then another one from Ekans, severely damaging the poor bird, forcing Ashley to recall her.

"Pidgeotto, return!" Ashley then returned Pidgeotto's Pokeball back to her belt and suddenly towards Team Rocket herself. "I'll show you!"

Upon reaching the villains, Ashley was stopped in her tracks when Jane simply held out her hand on her forehead.

"Alright, let's go! Put em' out!" shouted Ashley as she swung her arms around trying to hit them.

"Ha! What a fool," mocked Meowth. "In Pokemon Battles, only the Pokemon can fight each other."

Jane then told Ashley to "buzz off" before flicking her forehead, sending her rolling back to Misten and Pikachu.

"Are you okay?" asked a concerned Misten.

"Guess you got no choice," declared Jeffrey, "let Pikachu in and watch Team Rocket win."

Wanting to fight, Pikachu tried to struggle out of Misten's arms.

"No Pikachu, you can't battle in this condition." Misten stated as he tried to wipe the sludge off the mouse's eyes with a cloth. Misten then noticed Ashley take out another Pokeball. "Ashley, what are you-"

"I know you're still weak from battling Pidgeotto, but now Caterpie, you're my only hope. Just give it your very best!" With that said, Ashley threw Caterpie's Pokeball. "Caterpie, go!"

Upon release, Caterpie was still standing, but she also still had her bruises from her previous battle and she was trying catch her breath. Team Rocket was flabbergasted.

"What's that?"

"Huh?"

"It's a bug. A measly little bug."

Soon after, the trio broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Let's get the bug spray!" teased Jeffrey.

Ekans and Koffing pounced towards Caterpie to attack, causing her to duck and cower in fear. Hearing her friend in danger, Pikachu worriedly called out for her.

"Hang in there." Misten silently encouraged.

Ashley watched anxiously as the two poison types got closer and closer. Seeing an opening, Ashley called out, "Caterpie, String Shot now!"

Getting up from her cowering stance, Caterpie faced Koffing and shot a large amount of white string from her mouth, completely covering up the poison gas Pokemon and causing her to fall to the ground. Now focusing on Ekans, Caterpie did the same thing, only covering up her entire head. With both of her opponents blinded and immobile, Caterpie gave Koffing a good Tackle attack, sending her towards Ekans with the impact launching the both of them right past their trainers and Meowth.

"Beaten by a Caterpie..." commented Jane who was shocked at what she just saw.

"That really bugs me." growled Jeffrey.

As the only Pokemon of Team Rocket still standing, Meowth went up to Caterpie herself, claws ready.

"Now what a real Pokemon in action."

But just like Ekans and Koffing, Caterpie easily defeated Meowth with her String Shot attack, wrapping Meowth in a large amount of white silk string like a mummy. Jeffrey and Jane quickly ran to their immobile teammate to pick her up and retreat.

"It's time Team Rocket blasted off." Jeffrey sorely remarked to the young trainers before he and his team went off.

"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" shouted Jane as they ran, dropping her rose in the process.

"Come back anytime, we'll be glad to beat you!" taunted Misten, following up by sticking his tongue to them.

Going back to Ashley, she herself was surprised at this victory. And considering it's also her first battle victory, the excitement just grew within her.

"We did it. We did it! We won our first Pokemon victory fair-n-square! Yeah! Yeah!"

Ashley then went to her tired Caterpie to pick her up and congratulate her for her victory.

"Caterpie, I'm very proud of you! You really did your best and we won because of you!"

Misten, with Pikachu (who has gotten most of the sludge off her eyes by now) still in his arms, approached Caterpie to congratulate her too.

"You're stronger than you look Caterpie!" complimented Misten.

"Pika!" also complimented Pikachu, giving Caterpie the peace sign.

Caterpie was very pleased of all the praise she was getting, happily squeaking in Ashley's arms. That was when her trainer noticed that Misten actually said something nice to Caterpie.

"Well Misten, I guess you feel different about Caterpie now."

Wanting Misten to appreciate Caterpie more, Ashley held the bug Pokemon closer to him, slightly freaking Misten out.

"Well, I-"

"So, why don't you two make up? Just pet Caterpie on the head and say thanks for a really great job."

Misten still wasn't unsure.

"You like Pokemon, so it's only right to congratulate one for doing a great job."

"I guess you're right."

Misten nervously extended out his hand to pet Caterpie like Ashley insisted. At first, Misten thought it wasn't going to be too bad, until Caterpie suddenly started spraying String Shot in an upward motion, scaring Misten and causing him to shriek.

Ashley was too surprised at what Caterpie was currently doing. She's never seen the little Pokemon do something like that before.

"Caterpie."

She then placed the bug on the ground as Caterpie continued to spray String Shot upwards, covering herself in the white silk.

"Wha-"

"It's evolving!" Misten pointed out.

"Caterpie! This is so great!"

The string around Caterpie soon became green as Caterpie started ending up the String Shot, finishing her evolution process. In the place of Caterpie was now a green cocoon with yellow eyes that was slightly bigger than the previous form. Wondering about this new Pokemon, Ashley took out her Pokedex for Dextra to analyze.

"Metapod, Caterpie's next stage. It has encased its body in a hard shell. This specimen reached its stage faster than any previously discovered Pokemon of this variety."

"Hey, maybe that means you can keep on changing and go on to the next stage right away!" Ashley enthusiastically and optimistically pointed out to her new Metapod.

"Pi pika pi!"

Pikachu was happy for Metapod too, as now she's only one stage closer to getting to her final evolved form.

Putting her Pokedex away, Ashley knelt down to her newly evolved Metapod to pick her up.

"Nice to meet you, Metapod."

"..."

"Heheh, not in the mood to talk?"

"Pika chu!"

As Ashley joyfully laughed with her Pokemon, Misten watched her thoughtfully, seeing how much she enjoys being with her Pokemon.

"I've never known anyone like her. She really does love Pokemon."

Misten was then soon taken away from his thoughts when Ashley teasingly held Metapod close to his face, freaking him out.

"Misten, you two were just about to make friends. You didn't forget, did you?"

"Uh, I didn't forget, but I-"

Before Misten could finish, a wasp-like Pokemon called Beedrill flew right by him, freezing the orange-head in fear. As the Beedrill disappeared deeper in the forest, Misten, having enough for today, yelled out, "LET'S JUST GET OUTTA THIS FOREST BEFORE ANY MORE BUGS SHOW UP!"

"No way," argued the excited Ashley, "the deeper the forest, the more Pokemon there'll be and I'm not gonna miss and single one! Let's go!"

With Metapod in her backpack and Pikachu running behind, Ashley sped off towards the deeper parts of the forest as Misten ran behind, trying to catch up.

"Ashley, wait for me! Slow down!"

"How about you speed up? There's a lot of Pokemon to catch!"

And with that, the two took off deeper in the Viridian Forest. Will Ashley and Misten meet other Pokemon Trainers in the forest? Will Misten freak out at the sight of more bug Pokemon? Will Metapod achieve her dream of reaching her final evolutionary stage? Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

Another episode done. Now to start on the next episode with a genderbent Samurai. Heh, that'll be fun. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review if you have anything to say or ask! Thanks for reading!


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